The present invention relates to a firing module having a housing that can be mounted on a carrier structure so as to be rotatable in azimuth and in which a heavy weapon is mounted so as to be pivotable in elevation about a trunnion, whereby shells are supplied to the weapon via a shell supply mechanism that operates fully automatically and that is provided with a shell transfer arm that is pivotably mounted on the trunnion and on the free end of which is disposed a shell ram having a loading tray and that is pivotable out of a raised position, in which the loading tray is aligned with the gun bore axis of the weapon, parallel to the plane of elevation, into a lowered position, in which the loading tray is essentially vertical, as well as a shell transporter having a transport arm that on its free end is provided with a gripping mechanism for grasping a respective shell that is vertically stored in an ammunition magazine, tip pointing upwardly, and for supplying the shell from the shell transporter, to the loading tray, in the lowered position of the shell transfer arm.
A device of this type, in an embodiment as an armored howitzer, is described in European patent EP 0 331 980 B1.
With the known armored howitzer, the housing is embodied as a rotatable turret on which the heavy weapon is disposed. The turret, which is rotatable in azimuth, rests upon a carrier structure that is embodied as a tracked vehicle. With the known device, the ammunition magazines are disposed below the rotary bearing in the hull of the carrier vehicle, and the shells are grasped by the shell transporter and initially deposited in a transport rail that is also disposed in the vehicle hull and is initially horizontal. The transport rail moves the respective shell linearly and rotates about the vertical axis to adjust the various possible turret positions relative to the undercarriage. After reaching the turret position, the transport rail raises the horizontal shell into a vertical position and transfers it into the loading tray of the ram. The shell transfer arm is then pivoted upwardly about the trunnion axis until the loading tray of the shell ram is aligned with the gun bore axis of the weapon. With the known device, the propellant charges are manually supplied to the weapon.
It is an object of the invention to embody a firing module of the aforementioned type in such a way that a considerable saving in installation space, especially overall height, and in weight are achieved, and furthermore that the construction of the shell supply mechanism is simplified. The firing operation should be fully automatic, so that it could, for example, also be carried out from a command station externally of the firing module itself, and the firing module should have many applications, i.e. it should be possible for the carrier structure to be not only a tracked vehicle but also a wheeled vehicle for roads or rails, and also a fixed structure or even a ship.